Friday, December 28, 2012

A Director Continues His Quest
By DENNIS LIM | December 27, 2012
Source: NY Times

“THE party’s definitely finished, but you’re sort of left to do the dishes,” the director Paul Thomas Anderson said the other day as he walked a visitor through the spacious ranch house in this city’s Encino section that served as his production base and editing facility for his latest film, “The Master.”

With the movie’s release months behind him, his staff was down to a handful of people. The main order of business for the moment was the preparation of vegetarian tacos for lunch, but there were still loose ends to tie up for “The Master.” Reels of celluloid, packed in rows of boxes, filled a room, awaiting transfer to a storage vault. On a kitchen table sat a stack of mock newsletters produced for the film’s Oscar campaign, rave reviews in the form of a religious pamphlet titled “The Cause Footpath.” Work was in progress on the DVD release; one major supplement will be a 20-minute sequence of outtakes that Mr. Anderson edited together in the trancelike style of the film.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

In a fantastic interview with the New York Times today, PTA dropped some news about his next project "Inherent Vice" stating that it would be a more faithful adaptation than "Oil!" was and that he hopes to shoot next year.

His next project, which will take him into another chapter of the century, the late ’60s and early ’70s, is an adaptation of “Inherent Vice,” the 2009 novel by Thomas Pynchon. The book is a stoner private-eye saga, and Mr. Anderson has found an invaluable “research bible,” he said, in the underground comic strip the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

This is the first authorized adaptation of a Pynchon work, which suggests that Mr. Pynchon, famously reclusive, is cooperating in some fashion. But Mr. Anderson, a fan of that author since his teenage years, declined to speak on the record about him and seemed loath even to utter his name. “I would get dangerously close to betraying trust,” he said.

While “There Will Be Blood” was inspired by Upton Sinclair’s “Oil!,” this will be a more faithful adaptation — and a new kind of screenwriting challenge — for Mr. Anderson. “It’s more secretarial,” he said. “The credit should be like ‘secretary to the author.’ ” He added that he has “a large stack of pages” and hopes to shoot next year. “But it’s no less fun. In some ways it’s just what the doctor ordered right now for me: being more selfless.”

As always, the idea is to “burrow around” (a phrase he used more than once to describe his process) to find his way into someone’s head. Mr. Anderson said, again without mentioning Mr. Pynchon by name: “It feels really good to be doing that, being a participant in his mind.”

In the interview he also talks a bit more extensively about his influences for "The Master" in regards to Scientology and how he never saw it as an "epic" but more of a "chamber drama." Read the entire thing here.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

"There Will Be Blood" was released on December 26, 2007 to rave reviews and record-breaking grosses in New York and Los Angeles. The fifth film by Paul Thomas Anderson took five long years to make its way to the screen and was unlike anything his critics or fans could've anticipated. It was his first adaptation, first film not to feature any of his usual stock company of actors and first film since "Hard Eight" to leave the Valley behind completely. If "Punch-Drunk Love" took a hard left turn from the highly controlled ensemble films he had been known for, 'Blood' showed audiences that there was no turning back. Daniel Day-Lewis' towering performance as Daniel Plainview was immediately recognized as one for the ages, his character's speech was imitated (lovingly) by many and even spawned a phrase that entered the zeitgeist. The film would be nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay and go on to win 2 for Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis) and Best Cinematography for PTA's longtime cinematographer Robert Elswit.

I first saw "There Will Be Blood" at an advance screening in early December of '07 presented by the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. PTA and Daniel Day-Lewis were there for a Q&A and I spotted PTA-regular Julianne Moore in the crowd. I was seated with two rows of longtime PTA fans and when it ended I think we were all speechless. I knew I had seen something great but I didn't know at that moment it would be my favorite film of the decade. But a second, third and fourth viewing theatrically confirmed this would be the case. Each time I brought a few different friends to see the film, gathering different reactions each time and until "The Master," I hadn't seen any film that many times theatrically since. That first screening of 'Blood' will always stand out as being a special one because it was also my first (unofficial) date with my longtime girlfriend.

Where did you first see "There Will Be Blood"?
What are your favorite moments from the film?
Leave a comment below or use the hashtag #ThereWillBeBlood5 on Twitter.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Paul Thomas Anderson is a genuine auteur, a writer/director who works when he wants, makes what he wants, and is considered now to be one of the film industry’s true talents. His list of films is small but significant: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia to Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and now The Master, just six films in 16 years but all winning wide critical acclaim. He has five Oscar nominations, mostly for screenplay, but he did score his first directing nod for There Will Be Blood. He hopes to continue the trend with The Master, though the film has polarized audiences, something that surprised Anderson but doesn’t necessarily disappoint him. How that translates into awards is anyone’s guess, but don’t say Paul Thomas Anderson is making movies you can easily dismiss.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Awards season is rolling on and "The Master" continues to pick up accolades from various critics groups around the country. This past weekend the LA Film Critics awarded the film Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams) and Best Production Design (Jack Fisk & David Crank). They also named the film as Runner-Up (meaning 2nd place) for Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Music Score. Four wins and three runner's up = not too shabby. Boston Film Critics picked up the slack by awarding the film for Best Cinematography (Mihai Malaimare Jr.) and PTA as the Runner-Up for Best Director. Well deserved. Shoutout to Awards Daily for all their great coverage. You can check out all the film's awards & nominations (so far) on this page.

Update: Washington DC Film Critics gave Philip Seymour Hoffman their Best Supporting Actor Award and Jonny Greenwood for Best Score.

In other news, PTA was mentioned yet again on Elvis Mitchell's great podcast The Treatment, this time by "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes.

"We were talking off mic a little earlier about one of the greats, Paul Thomas Anderson, who is a true auteur - and there are very few of those who I would classify as geniuses - who can write their own material and have a particular vision and take that vision from their lonely room where they're writing with their pen onto their typewriter and take it right the way through to the point where they can make the finished article. I am not one of those people and most directors are not and so you are waiting for material to arrive that speaks to you in some unconscious way and you're not always sure why you're led in one particular direction or another. And it's your duty to be open to everything to some degree and to not try and repeat yourself."

Sunday, December 02, 2012

It's December already which means that awards season is upon us. Kicking things off is Sight & Sound who have just named "The Master" as the best film of 2012. (We agree.) Very good news for the film and hopefully the first of many accolades to come. (via The Playlist) Additionally, a few video interviews with key department heads/collaborators on the film have also come to light which you can check out below for a deeper insight into how "The Master" was made. (via xixax)

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Last night Christopher Nolan stopped by Filmlinc in NYC to discuss his "Dark Knight" trilogy on the eve of the film's Blu/DVD release and to boost the film's Awards season hopes. During the 90 minute conversation, Nolan and moderator Scott Foundas spoke extensively about his unique take on the iconic character, his influences and how Nolan is essentially one of the last filmmakers still working on film (and one of the first to shoot on 70mm IMAX). During the chat Nolan mentioned that he had seen "The Master" and it looked the way he thought a film should look. Filmlinc also has a print interview with the filmmaker which you can read an excerpt of below:

There’s a strong analog quality to your films in general and
the Dark Knight films in particular. You talked about wanting to have a
very tactile world, and seeing The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX
70mm you can’t escape the feeling that you’re seeing a film made on
film, albeit with hundreds of CGI shots, but integrated in a way that
you don’t feel that digital quality in the way you do with most movies
that make heavy use of digital technology.

I recently saw a 70mm print of The Master and I realized that,
other than my own films, it’s the first photochemically finished film
I’ve seen in many years, and it looks the way a movie should look. To
me, it’s just a superior form. In The Dark Knight Rises, we
have about 430 effects shots out of 3,000, so the idea that the tail
wags the dog and then you finish the film in the digital realm is
illogical. We make the 430 shots fit in with the remaining 2,500 that we
timed photochemically. For that reason, I’ve never done a film with
more than 500 effects shots. These films have about a third or a quarter
the number of CG shots of any other film on that scale. That allows me
to keep working photochemically and to make the digital effects guys
print out their negatives so we actually cut the effect with its
background plate on film, and we can see whether it matches.

For me, it’s simply the best way to make a film, and why more people
haven’t done it I could not tell you. The novelty of digital is part of
it. For some filmmakers, there’s a fear of being left behind, which to
me is irrational because as a director you’re not responsible for
loading a camera. You can hire whoever you need to and shoot how you
want to shoot, but I think, very simply, industrial economics favor
change, and there’s more money in change, whether or not it’s better.
But I talk to a lot of young filmmakers who want to shoot on film and
see the value in it. I’ve gone out of my way to screen film prints of The Dark KnightRises
for other filmmakers, because no one prints dailies anymore—they’re not
seeing the potential of film—whereas I’ve been seeing it every day I’ve
been working for the past 10 years.

During the conversation he called it "Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master'" which was cute. Wonder if he knows PTA is a mutual admirer?

Monday, November 26, 2012

Hope everybody had a good holiday, we have a few random odds & ends for you this morning. First up is this analysis of all of PTA's Tracking Shots by Sight & Sound. It's an excellent video which shows the evolution of the camera movement throughout his filmography and definitely worth a viewing if you haven't already seen it. Secondly, we have a quote from SNL MVP Bill Hader who was on Elvis Mitchell's excellent podcast The Treatment back in September (but we just got around to listening).

"You're into what you're into. And people can be into a lot of different things. It's funny too - when you meet people like Maya Rudolph is with Paul Thomas Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson hangs out at SNL a lot. And I'm a huge, huge fan of his movies. But when we talk about movies we talk about like, 'Chud.' You know? Or we talk about how we both saw a double-feature of 'Darkman' and 'My Blue Heaven.' And he's goes, 'I saw that double-feature!' And I was like, 'Yeah, I went into 'Darkman' and then snuck into 'My Blue Heaven'.' He goes, 'They came out the same week and.. [trails off]' You know what I mean? Those are the things you're kinda into."

"My Blue Heaven" and "Darkman" are both available from Netflix if you'd like to recreate your own double-feature. Comedian Patton Oswalt spoke to Onion AV Club about his Random Roles and gave the following hilarious anecdote about appearing in "Magnolia."

Magnolia (1999)—“Delmer Darion”PO: Delmer Darion. God. I was doing a show one night, and I went back in the kitchen and was hanging out, and Paul Thomas Anderson
was there. We were just talking, and he was like, “I’m doing this movie
if you want a part in it.” I said, “Yeah, sure.” So they called me the
next day and said I needed to come in to be fitted for a wetsuit. I
said, “Can I see the screenplay first?” And they were like, “Nope.” So I
went in and got this custom wetsuit made, and they gave me two pages of
the script and flew me to Reno. We shot this scene and then hung out
all night drinking. And a week later, we were shooting and I was in the
wetsuit. It was so hot to the point where I wasn’t even sweating
anymore. And Paul was dumping bottles of water on my head to keep me
from passing out and I was like, “Paul, what are we doing?” He said, “I
can’t say right now, but I’ll just say that you are the first frog that
falls out of the sky.” And I went, “Okay.” So that’s what working with
PTA is like.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (in the U.S. anyway). A recent post on another site prompted us to dig into the archives and revisit all of the Paul Thomas Anderson interviews with Charlie Rose. If you've never seen them, they're mandatory viewing, especially fascinating viewed in quick succession from one film to the next. Even if you have seen them, it's probably been a while so we thought we'd re-share them with you. Shout-out to DonRMB for uploading most of these. Enjoy.BOOGIE NIGHTS

After a screening of a pair of John Huston documentaries that helped inspire the film -- "Let There Be Light" and "Battle Of San Pietro" -- PTA unveiled a twenty minute collage of deleted scenes from "The Master" that he'd edited for inclusion on the DVD/Blu (similar to the "Blossoms & Blood" short of unused material on the "Punch-Drunk Love" disc). SlashFilm has a rundown of what was shown which lines up nicely with our own Guide To "The Master" Deleted Scenes and includes some completely unseen footage. Major spoilers follow.

Crest of a Wave: Paul Thomas Anderson on The Master
Feature by Jamie Dunn.
Published 30 October 2012
Source: The Skinny

According to David Thomson,
cinema’s great dissident critic, the putrid stench of death hangs in
the air at your local multiplex, commingling with the more familiar funk
of nacho cheeze and acne-faced adolescents. “Film is not dead,” Thomson
writes in a recent issue of The New Republic, “it is just dying. This morbidity is familiar to us all.” Paul Thomas Anderson, director of The Master, this festival season’s most thrilling spectacle, clearly hasn’t received the memo.

“There’s always going to be a way, right? There’s got to be,” the
42-year-old filmmaker tells me from his office in Los Angeles when I ask
about Thomson and other critics’ recent premature obituaries for the
medium. “But, as Neil Young says, maybe that’s a hippie dream.”

Paul Thomas Anderson has arrived in Australia the
day before. He’s jet lagged out of his skull, and has had a full day of
interviews with journalists eager to discuss his new film, The Master which opens today across Australia.

After being cooped up in a hotel room all day, he’d had enough – and
out onto the deck that runs along the front of Sydney’s The Sebel Pier
we went.

It was a round table discussion, from right to left, it was Matt,
representing Ezy DVD and Matt from Matt’s Movie Reviews, and yours
truly, Oscar Hillerstrom, talking to Paul Thomas Anderson about his
film.

Both Matts had first go on the questions, and because they really
went ‘in there’ I took a slightly more relaxed approach, seeing as PTA
was dead on his feet (after us, it was a nap for an hour, and the then
launching the Cockatoo Island Film Festival) and that it was a lovely
day. A serious filmmaker, who makes serious movies – is in fact just a
normal guy after all. Enjoy a brief glimpse into the mind of the mind
that made The Master.

Warning: in case you didn’t get this from the heading of this post – it gets a little sweary.

Paul Thomas Anderson interview The director talks to Time Out about making his latest film, 'The Master'
Source: Time Out London

‘The Master’
arrives in cinemas loaded with expectation. It’s the first film from
42-year-old American writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson, the
director of ‘Boogie Nights’ and ‘Punch Drunk Love’, since his stunning 2007 film ‘There Will Be Blood’.

The film has also been the subject of endless chatter since it was
mooted. Would it be ‘about’ Scientology? Was Philip Seymour Hoffman
playing a version of the controversial religion’s founder, L Ron
Hubbard? And what would Tom Cruise (who starred in Anderson’s 1999 film ‘Magnolia’) say and think about the whole thing?

The film itself is a marvel. Set mostly in 1950, it stars Hoffman as
Lancaster Dodd, the founder of a religion called The Cause – based on
the early incarnation of Dianetics, the belief system of Scientology.
But it’s more accurately the story of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a
troubled sailor who stumbles out of the war and into Dodd’s open arms.

Dave Calhoun
spoke to Anderson by phone from Sydney, on the eve of the film’s
release in London, where it will first open as a 70mm presentation (it
was shot on the rare 65mm format) in the West End before opening across
the country two weeks later.

He’s responsible for some of the meatiest cinema fare out there, with his latest ”The Master” up there with some of the most dramatic, emotionally-stirring epics of the year, but surprisingly, acclaimed writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s taste in film likely isn’t that dissimilar to the everyday cinemagoer. Most weekends you’ll likely find Anderson (and actress wife Maya Rudolph) plonked down in front of the TV watching a cheesy popcorn flick like ”Die Hard” or ”Flying High”.

And so to Paul Thomas Anderson, oscar-nominated for writing and directing Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There will be Blood, his 2006 film of oil prospecting, greed and American ambition at the very beginning of the 20th century. His new film The Master is strictly mid-century, concerning Freddie Quell, a troubled former World War II naval serviceman who in a fog of uncertainty, anger and booze, falls under the influence of Lancaster Dodd, a man with a belief system and a following known as "The Cause." A man who bears certain biographical similarities to L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Dodd allows Quell to work for him, but he wants to sort him out too.(17:54 - 18:37: Dialogue from the film trailer: "Why all the skulking and sneaking? You've wandered from the proper path, haven't you? The problems that you've had." "I don't have any problems, I dunno what I've told you, but if you have work for me to do I can do it." "You seem so familiar to me." "Well, what do you do?" "I am a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher, but above all, I am a man . . . hopelessly inquisitive man, just like you.")

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Good film, just don’t mention the ‘war’: interview with Paul Thomas AndersonSource: Crikey

I assumed acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson would be happy to discuss correlations between his new film, The Master, and the Scientology movement on which it was partly based. I was wrong.

He would have known.

He would have known before he landed in Australia to promote his new
film. He would have known before he yelled “action”. He would have known
before he started working on the screenplay.

Acclaimed writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, The Master (which
opens in Australian cinemas November 8) has been associated with the
word “Scientology” since the vaguest outlines of its storyline surfaced.

As The Master hits local cinemas, its maker opens up about his ongoing fascination for stories about male dynamics.

A filmmaker whose output is ambitious and challenging in both subject matter (Hard Eight; Boogie Nights; There Will be Blood) and style (Magnolia; Punch Drunk Love), Paul Thomas Anderson has been answering questions about his complex Scientology-themed drama The Master, since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September. A few hours before its first Australian screening as the opening night film at the Cockatoo Island Film Festival, a contemplative (and severely jetlagged) Anderson sat with SBS Film.

Interview: Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master) By Simon Miraudo | November 5, 2012Source: Quickflix Paul Thomas Anderson's
reputation is such that merely uttering the titles of his six feature
films should be enough of an introduction. Frankly, the press shy auteur
would probably prefer his work speak for itself. He's enjoyed a nearly
unprecedented run of creative success since making his debut with
1996's Hard Eight (aka Sydney), which was followed by Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood. The writer-director looks set to add to his five career Oscar nominations with new movie The Master, starring Joaquin Phoenix as a troubled WW2 vet who falls under the spell of an L. Ron Hubbard-esque religious leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

I spoke to Anderson about giving Phoenix his first role since his fake flame-out, reuniting with Hoffman, The Master's surprise relationship to Anchorman, rumours of the project's abandonment back in 2010, and whether or not he's gotten used to spruiking his pictures. Hit the 'Play' button below to hear the interview, as well as excerpts from Jonny Greenwood's score.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

APPARENTLY not every journalist has raised the topic of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard with writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson in interviews for his long-awaited The Master.

"But that's only because I brought it up first, making it easier for them," the Californian auteur - if ever there were an apt individual for the term, he's it - says, laughing, good-naturedly deflecting the question.
Anderson is famous for giving little away about his films beyond what he deems necessary.

The fact the central character in The Master, played magisterially by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is based on Hubbard and the plotline bears an uncanny resemblance to Scientology's early days has been the topic of fascinated discussion in the film world since details of the project began leaking out months ago.
Anderson has expressed irritation at the focus even while acknowledging the story's origin.

Monday, October 29, 2012

A little over a month ago we invited readers to serenade someone with their rendition of "(I'd Like To Get You On) A Slow Boat To China" for a chance to win a copy of the soundtrack or an official "The Master" one-sheet. After days of deliberation (from the window to the wall and back again), the Cigs & Vines team have chosen our 5 favorite videos which you can view below. Feel free to share/blog/etc.

We'd like to thank everyone who entered, we really had fun watching all the videos. Winners will be contacted via Twitter immediately. If you'd still like to make a video, go ahead and send it in and maybe we'll send a copy of the soundtrack your way. Which one is your favorite? Sound off in the comments below.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

On Wednesday 24th October I was lucky enough to represent Graffiti With Punctuation in a round table interview session with the director of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood and The Master, Mr.
Paul Thomas Anderson. He is one of the most talented and most respected
filmmakers of his generation and admirers of his films (myself
included) claim them to be amongst the greatest American films ever
made.

Paul was in town to promote The Master, his most recent ‘masterpiece’. Later that evening he would be introducing the film at the opening of the 1st
Cockatoo Island Film Festival and the following night he would be
conducting a Q&A session at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne, where
the film would be screened in the desired 70mm format.

FIELDING questions about Scientology is nothing new for the acclaimed American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.

After early reports that his much-anticipated follow-up to There Will Be Blood
featured a character based on L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the
controversial religion that some consider a cult, there was speculation The Master would be some kind of exposé.

The five-time Oscar nominee, whose other movies include Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love described the speculation during his visit to Sydney as ''kind of irritating''.

''It's like a little fly buzzing around your head because it was not
the film that we were making,'' Anderson said. ''But you can't manage
people's expectations particularly when that word makes people buzz and
get excited and they salivate over it and they want to know more and
they want to gossip about it.

''You just have to tune that chatter out and not think about it.''

The Master, which opened the first Cockatoo Island
Film Festival this week, centres on a damaged World War II veteran,
played by Joaquin Phoenix, who falls under the influence of a
charismatic cult leader, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

It's an ambitious, thoughtful drama that has been considered a
likely Oscar nominee for best picture since it won directing and acting
awards at the Venice Film Festival.

Anderson, who was keen for a swim at Bondi during his visit
to Sydney, said it was a delight having the movie selected for the new
Sydney Harbour festival.

''I can remember starting out and you just want to be part of
a film festival,'' he said. ''And you're lucky to be in some sidebar
way over here and you're screening at 10 o'clock at night.

''I just loved it when it was presented to me a couple of
months ago to be the first film in the first year. It's so much cooler
than the second year.''

Anderson is an Obama supporter but is unsure how the US presidential election will pan out.''I have a tendency to be a thing that I'd hate if I saw it
in anybody else, which is an over-confident Democrat who just sits back
and thinks 'there's no way, right? We'll be all right','' he said. ''I
hope everything turns out all right.''

I
can’t quite describe my reaction when I heard that Paul Thomas
Anderson was coming to Australia to promote his new film, The Master.
He’s my favourite modern day director and Magnolia (released in
Australia in early 2000) is a masterpiece. On 24 October 2012, I took
the day off work and flew to Sydney for a chance to spend 15 minutes
with Paul and ask him a few questions. It was an honour to be in the
company of such a gifted filmmaker and here’s what he had to say…

This week cinephiles down under have been treated to their very first screenings of "The Master" as the film just had its Australian premiere at the Cockatoo Island Film Festival and another screening in 70mm at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne. Paul was on hand for both events (you can see him above with the artistic director for the Cockatoo Film Fest) and participated in a post-film Q&A at the Astor. A reader who was on hand at the latter event sent along a few notes.

After the screening the fan approached Paul and asked about the "Punch-Drunk Love" Blu-ray. and Paul said he's working on it now and will be released "next year." No word yet on if this will be a Criterion release but it seems like it could be a possibility.

When asked by the fan if he would ever record a commentary again (since he hasn't done one since "Boogie Nights") he said he might even though he doesn't necessarily enjoy recording them. Sounds like we can probably rule them out for 'PDL' and "The Master" but perhaps down the line.

He also talked about how he's never really been offered tentpoles but that he admires what Chris Nolan did with 'The Dark Knight' films. "I've never really been asked to do that kind of thing. You look at what Christopher Nolan did with Batman, that's like the meeting of the highest level of artistic skill & a kind of commerciality and appeal to a wide range of people which is what anybody would want. It's kind of unparalleled actually, and they don't come to me with those. And that's alright."

Also when asked about if this auditorium was his lecture, and he was the film school professor, what film would he show. He said "Ted", that it was truly hilarious and so well written, one of the funniest/best films he's seen recently. That a film like "Ted" just takes you back to the core of what films are about, enjoyment.

The Astor Theatre was recording the Q&A so lets hope it goes online soon. (thanks Mert!) If any of our readers were recording and would like to send it along, that would be great.

The Master rolls in midway through the Venice film festival. It comes billed as thunderstorm, a controversy, its arrival trailed by rumbles of dissent. This, we are told, is the Scientology film, a veiled biopic of the demagogic L Ron Hubbard; the movie that freaked Tom Cruise.
In the event it turns out to be all that and more. So much more, in
fact, that the delegates stumbling out from the screening appear
momentarily nonplussed.

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
charts the fortunes of lowly Freddie Quell, a volatile drifter who
falls under the spell of charismatic Lancaster Dodd. Shuffling through
the postwar west, Dodd plies his trade in town halls and parlours,
spinning tales of reincarnation and space aliens and cooking up a new religion
as his "gift to homosapiens". What follows, though, is not so much a
display of tabloid fireworks as a sweeping epic about hope, loss and the
scars of war; a celebration of the American knack for self-renewal and a
criticism of it too. The Master contains multitudes. Days after its premiere, I still can't shake it from my head.

I
meet the director in an upstairs ballroom of a Venice hotel, where
sunlight bounces off the marble and the windows are thrown open to show
the sea. Anderson turned 42 last June. He has flecks of grey on his
temples and three children at home with the actor Maya Rudolph. Yet the setting seems to galvanise him, stoking embers of the precocious young upstart who made Boogie Nights and Magnolia and then ushered Daniel Day-Lewis towards the best actor Oscar in There Will Be Blood.
Anderson is jumpy, excited, ready for battle. The Master has been
dogged by so many rumours and so much misinformation that it is a relief
to finally have it exposed. It is time he set the record straight.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Invaluable film resource American Cinematographer magazine have featured "The Master" in their November issue. The cover story features an extensive 15 page interview with cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. on the making of the film as well as a special one page note from Paul. You have to be a subscriber in order to read the full article but we've excerpted a few highlights below:

Last week we told you that while PTA was in NYC for his whirlwind press tour, he also stopped by the Village East Cinema for a quick Q&A with his friend/hero, filmmaker Jonathan Demme. Though we weren't aware of the event beforehand, we did learn that the Q&A was definitely recorded so we can assume that the footage will make its way online soon or perhaps included on the
DVD/Blu down the line. Until then, a reader was kind enough to send in a detailed recap of the event which is clearly the next best thing. If you haven't seen the film yet, there are spoilers below.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Here is your weekend news round-up (which should already be old news to everyone who follows us on Twitter):

Joaquin Phoenix gave a rare and in-depth interview to Elvis Mitchell at Interview Magazine where he spoke candidly about "The Master," working with Paul & (the quote heard round the internet) how the Oscars are bullshit. Read it here.

EW also reports (via The Playlist) that Paul had been talking to James Franco about the role of Freddie but that he didn't think the actor was "scared" enough of the role. Unclear when this might have been (post-Renner, pre-Phoenix seems likely) but very interesting nonetheless. Here's what Franco said:

“Paul Thomas Anderson was getting ready to make the Master and he called me and we met. And we talked and we ended up meeting for coffee. We didn’t talk about the Master
but I met him to chat. And then he kept calling me and he wanted to
talk and talk but I didn’t know what he wanted to talk about because
we’d always just kind of bulls— on the phone. So then when he started
talking about the role he said ‘Do you feel like you can do this?’ And I
said ‘Yeah, totally. Look, I think you’re like the best American
director. I feel confident. I know I can do this.’ And he said to me
‘But I want this to scare you. I want this role, going on this journey
to scare you.’ And I was like ‘Scare?! I know I can do it.” Franco now
had the laughing audience in the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental
ballroom in the palm of his hand. “And so, incredible movie, needless to
say I didn’t get the part. I guess I wasn’t scared enough or something,
or whatever reason I didn’t get it. And then when I saw Joaquin in that
movie I realized ‘Oh, he wanted me to like lose my mind.’ And so I
guess that’s just to say I usually don’t get scared of roles.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

You'll remember a few months ago that we posted a very funny bit from comedian Paul F. Tompkins called The Rules Of Daniel Day Lewis in which Tompkins described his brief time with the actor filming "There Will Be Blood." We also mentioned that having been at the taping of his new stand-up album in Brooklyn last year, he had another PTA-related bit about being seated next to Tom Cruise at the "Magnolia" table read. While that bit wasn't included in the broadcast version, it is on the album "Laboring Under Delusions" which is presented "unedited" and you can order now for just $10. The album cover is also amazing.

In completely unrelated but still comedic news, the first parody of "The Master" has arrived on YouTube and it's pretty good. Watch it below (via Grantland):

Monday, October 15, 2012

It's been quite some time, but longtime readers of the site will remember a semi-regular feature at Cigs & Vines called "PTA DVD Pick" wherein we would feature a film Paul had recently recommended for optional viewing/purchase. (This was, of course, started well before the existence of Blu-rays but you get the idea.) Thanks to the interview with Sirius XM, we have a few new ones but we'll start with "Breaking Away" (1979). The Peter Yates ("Bullitt") directed drama stars a young Dennis Quaid, Jackie Earle Haley and Daniel Stern and the synopsis reads: a small-town teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl. Paul calls it "essential viewing."

MA: Is there an old classic that you think is essential viewing?

PTA: That's a long list, too. Something that may be off the beaten
track. I don't know if this is a classic or essential but I was
thinking of a film yesterday that just popped into my head that I
haven't seen in a few. Breaking Away. Does anyone remember that film ?

MA: Paul Dooley.

PTA: That's right. Paul Dooley. And Dennis Quaid. Jackie Earle
Haley. I think Peter Yates made that film. And, God, what a great
film. What a terrific film. That popped into my mind for whatever
reason the other day. Yeah, I was thinking about it because the son
comes out and the Italians have just made him crash. And he comes and
he's crying and Paul Dooley says, "What's the matter? Did you lose your
wallet?" And it made me laugh out loud walking down the street.

MA: Great movie.

If you haven't seen it or think it's time for another look, the film is available on DVD (but not Blu-ray) and can be purchased at Amazon (or streamed) and is also available from Netflix. You can Check out all PTA's DVD Picks here.

Friday, October 12, 2012

This morning on a NYC press tour that included stops at The Daily Show, CBS This Morning (with Charlie Rose!) and a surprise Q&A with Jonathan Demme, PTA stopped by the Sirius XM studios to record an hour-long chat called "Paul Thomas Anderson Town Hall." The show was hosted by Rotten Tomatoes and offered a dozen lucky fans the chance to ask questions of their choosing. One half of the C&RV team was on hand to witness the conversation which covered off on a variety of topics and was admittedly pretty damn great. Paul spoke about his favorite filmmaker working today (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), which actors he'd love to work with (Robert DeNiro (still), Jim Carrey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Charlize Theron, Michael Shannon) and what recent films have impressed him ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"). He also spoke about his next project, an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent Vice" which has been brewing since back in 2010.

When asked about the struggles of adapting the book he said...

"The hardest thing is just trying to find how to take 400 great pages and turn it into ideally 110, maybe 120 script pages. And it's just difficult to do. There's no shortage of great things on every paragraph and every page. So, it's a very uptown problem to have. It's not like, 'Oh God, what am I going to do with this turd?' It's just not that at all. It's like somebody dumped bags of gold in front of me and I can only take so much with me. What do I do?"

On why wanted to adapt Pynchon...

"I've always loved his work, his books are just dynamite to me. [He] was always a big influence, [his books are] filled with so much humor and so much craziness and thoughtfulness. Somewhere between fart jokes and kinky sex and just such humanity and delicateness. That was just stuff that I gobbled up, his books. So this is one that, I dunno, we'll try. We'll see."

And if he's adapting the film with any actors in mind...

"Yeah but I can't quite put my finger on it and I wouldn't want to name names out loud or anything to jinx it or something like that. But they're such well-drawn characters it's going to be really fun to go and try to do that. Hopefully soon."

You can listen to the entire thing OnDemand if you're a Sirius subscriber and if you're not you can sign up for a free trial at their site. We're gonna try to get a transcription up soon so reach out if you'd like to help out with that. Have a good weekend everyone!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine.

"Punch-Drunk Love" was released ten years ago today on October 11th, 2002. If you weren't lucky enough to have caught Paul Thomas Anderson's 4th film when it debuted at Cannes (where Paul won the Best Director prize), you had another agonizing 5 months to wait. During that time the film picked up even more acclaim at festivals in Toronto, Chicago and New York. Paul's longtime producer JoAnne Sellar said of the film's genesis, "After 'Magnolia', which was a huge, dark, challenging movie. I think Paul
wanted to make something that was contained, uplifting and sweet." Prior to its release it was impossible to imagine what a "90 minute Adam
Sandler romantic comedy" would look like through the lense of Paul
Thomas Anderson. But after you see the film, wonderful and strange as it is, you can't imagine it any
other way. The film was not a commercial success and was snubbed at the Academy Awards despite being one of the best reviewed films of that year. In retrospect, the film is a pivotal one in Paul's career, marking the transition from his earlier tightly controlled films to his later more improvisational efforts.

I saw "Punch-Drunk Love" on opening night at Loews Lincoln Square in NYC. I was going to college in Philadelphia at the time and rather than wait another week, I decided to drive up to New York with a few friends to catch the first evening show. The film was nothing like I'd expected but I loved it all the same and proved that the filmmaker who had made "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia" was capable of doing something different, wildly different even, than critics, fans and audiences had expected. I saw the film several more times in theatres and one final time the following summer at a BAM screening in Brooklyn with Paul and Philip Seymour Hoffman in attendance.

Where did you first see "Punch-Drunk Love"?
What are your favorite moments from the film?
Leave a comment below or use the hashtag #PunchDrunkLove10 on Twitter.